Election leaders in Wake County sift through dozens of returned letters, a sign voter registration forms from a variety of groups had bogus mailing addresses.
Statewide, 135 fake forms --30 in Wake County and about 104 in Durham County-- are the focus of a state investigation --a small number, but still a big issue to republican leaders.
"They are a threat to the public at large and two they are engaged in large scale fraud and you don't have to take my word for it," said Danny Diaz, communications director for the Republican National Committee. "You wouldn't have federal and state authorities looking into their activities."
ACORN, a national group that has registered 27,000 new voters in North Carolina, is at the center of the controversy.
Officials say some of its workers used names and numbers out of phone books and others registered applicants multiple times.
"We tell our canvassers right away, 'don't do this, there are criminal consequences if you do it'," Pat McCoy with ACORN said. "We have had people who were prosecuted, but the organization has not been found to be guilty in regards to our programs."
Critics argue, unlike North Carolina, some states are sorting through hundreds of fraudulent forms, a burden to overwhelmed election workers.
They blame senator Obama's alleged ties to acorn --a relationship his campaign denies-- adding the voter registration controversy is a political ploy.
"I think it is a distraction, because again they're not affiliated with our campaign. They're not doing this on our behalf, we're registering voters ourselves," campaign strategist Robert Gibbs said. "We have the best field organization in NC and throughout this country."
Eyewitness News has learned at least one case of registration fraud may be referred to the Durham DA's office for prosecution.
